BOTHELL, Wash. – The Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs (CHA) and FEMA are partnering to expand access to the FEMA Funeral Assistance Program for Hispanic/Latinx communities in Washington. This collaboration is an opportunity for FEMA to work with the Commission to engage with, inform, and reach Hispanic/Latinx community members who have lost a loved one to COVID-19.
“The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have—and continue to be—devastating,” says Vince Maykovich, Acting FEMA Region 10 Administrator. “By partnering with CHA, we want to build relationships with Hispanic/Latinx communities in Washington and raise awareness about how to register and participate in FEMA’s Funeral Assistance program.”
“We facilitate access to information and resources to the Hispanic/Latinx communities across the state of Washington. This means that we advise, lead, and help make sure that information is delivered in a digestible, culturally relevant way. We hope to aid in raising awareness about this valuable and important program in our community. COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the Hispanic/Latinx community in our state, and we hope this information encourages our community to apply to this program and help ease the financial aspects of placing a loved one to rest,” says María Sigüenza, Executive Director of the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs.
If you incurred COVID-19-related funeral, burial, or cremation expenses on or after January 20, 2020, FEMA may be able to help you with some of those costs. To apply, call FEMA at 844-684-6333. The helpline is open Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. Multilingual services are available. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. You must be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified non-citizen to apply. However, there is no eligibility requirement for the deceased person to have been a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified non-citizen. A funeral assistance video describing eligibility is available in English and Spanish, view and share today.
For more information about FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Program visit FEMA.gov.
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